Gangs have taken over Haiti. Schools must educate anyway.

Route de Frères is a major artery connecting the heart of Port-au-Prince with nearby suburbs, typically flanked by open-air markets, crowds of students making their way to school on foot, and a cacophony of bumper-to-bumper traffic.

But on a sunny morning this spring, the thoroughfare was eerily empty – slowly becoming the new normal.

It’s just one result of gang violence that has spiked since 2021 and spiraled since the spring, forcing entire neighborhoods into lockdown today.

After decades of on-again, off-again political turmoil, insecurity, and repeated devastating natural disasters, Haiti is no stranger to crisis. It does not have an elected leader and hasn’t held a presidential election in seven years. In March, the former prime minister was forced by increasingly powerful gangs and loss of support from the United States to step down. Interim Prime Minister Garry Conille, appointed by an interim presidential council, took